1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to providing articles such as coupons, premiums, and the like with products packaged in containers such as bags.
2. Description of the Background Art
It has long been recognized as desirable to be able to provide articles, such as coupons, premiums, and the like, with commercially sold products packaged in containers such as bags.
The simplest method for providing a coupon with a packaged product such as a bag of potato chips is to print the coupon directly on the bag as part of the label. However, the inconvenience of tearing or cutting the bag to separate the coupon is apparent, as is the unsuitability of this method for providing individually packaged premiums such as condiments.
Prior art methods for placing coupons and like articles inside of bags include gravity-fed "pick-and-place" devices which, as the name implies, place individual articles into a bag before, during or after introduction of product into the bag. Articles placed into bags by "pick-and-place" machines generally reside freely within the bag, i.e., are not connected to the bag. The articles are therefore free to move around within the bag to positions which may be less than optimally located for maximum visibility by the consumer. Furthermore, with high speed packaging devices such as form-and-fill baggers for snack foods, pick-and-place machines may possess disadvantages such as slow operating speed, as well as inconsistent and unpredictable article placement.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,541,167, 2,815,620 and 4,545,781 disclose various devices and methods for applying coupons, premiums, samples and the like to the outside of bags. One disadvantage of attaching a coupon, premium, or sample to the outside of a bag is that persons have access to the article without the necessity of opening the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,586 discloses a method and apparatus for applying a continuous strip of coupons to a continuous web of bag paper prior to forming the web of bag paper into a four-sided self-opening paper grocery bag with the coupon strip applied to the inside front panel thereof. This arrangement does not appear desirable for use with sealed bags of products such as snack food because the arrangement apparently requires a special form of bag, i.e., an open top, four-sided self-opening paper grocery bag.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an inexpensive and convenient way to apply articles such as prepackaged premiums and coupons to the inside of sealed bags of product in a manner such that the articles retains maximum and optimal customer visibility and availability upon bag opening without loss of intended functional properties of the carrier bag.